Seized 2 days ago, Taliban release Parwan teachers

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Taliban militants on Thursday freed 45 schoolteachers they had seized two days back in central Parwan province, an official said.

Noor Aqa Sami, the Siahgard district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban captured the teachers when they were going to a bank to withdraw their salaries.

He said the rebels held the teachers captive for two days and broke their mobile SIM cards before releasing them.

The released teachers serve in Kamin Shahid, Fazal Khuda Shaheed and Abdul Bashir Shaheed schools in the Siahgard district. Sami said the teachers had been intercepted in a Taliban-controlled area.

Nizamuddin Rahimi, deputy finance head at the provincial Education Department, confirmed the incident and said the Taliban had long been creating hurdles in the process of salary distribution to schoolteachers. He warned the salary issuance process might be halted if Taliban continued to interfere.